The Heart of Christmas Love
by MWolfL
Summary: Arthur almost gets caught by the police, who mistake him for a robber. Then he comes across a woman who saves him. They become friends and Arthur falls in love with her, but will a misunderstanding ruin everything? ArthurXOC
1. Christmas Spirit

It was another Christmas Eve, Arthur Christmas's second as Santa Claus in fact. They were in Green River, Wyoming at the moment. Arthur and Bryony, his main helper, were taking care of one home when Arthur accidentally tripped on a roller skate and hit the burglar alarm. It went off.

"I'm really starting to get tired of these things." Arthur groaned.

"Santa, we'd better go. We'll come back for the other houses once things have cooled off." Bryony said.

"Right-" Arthur was cut off as he heard the people upstairs getting up. "No time for the chimney."

With that, Arthur and Bryony ran out the front door. Unfortunately there were cops nearby.

"Halt!" One cop said.

"Oh perfect." Bryony muttered dryly.

Arthur quickly picked up Bryony and ran away. After all if he got arrested then Christmas really would be ruined for the kids they hadn't delivered to yet. Fortunately, due to his long legs, he was able to get far ahead of the cops. Arthur then turned a corner...and nearly bum ped into a woman. She stared at him and Bryony, and then smiled as if she recognized him.

"Quick, take your coat off and put this one on." The woman took a newly bought coat out of the bag she had been carrying. "Jump in here." She then said to Bryony.

Confused, but not knowing what else to do, Arthur switched coats with the woman and Bryony hid herself in her bag. The woman then snatched Arthur's hat and stuffed it in her bag, and gestured for Arthur to turn around. At that point the cops caught up. Bryony quickly took Arthur's arm.

"Oh Belinda." The second cop panted. "Have you seen a guy run past here? He was wearing a red coat and hat, must think he's Santa Claus or something." He then chuckled.

"I did, he ran past me and turned left at the corner." Belinda pointed.

"Thanks." The first cop said. "Say, why are you out this late?"

"Last-second Christmas shopping." Belinda explained. "Managed to find the coat dad wanted, though had some trouble. I figured that I wouldn't be able to find parking so my friend and I took the bus to the stores, but it took so long to find the coat that we missed the last bus back and had to walk home."

"This far?" The second cop was surprised.

"Well not entirely, we did stop for dinner along the way." Belinda shrugged. "Now if you'll excuse us we'd would like to get home, we're pretty tired."

"Sure, and thanks again." The first cop said as he and his partner ran past Belinda and Arthur.

"Thank you." Arthur said with relief once the cops were out of sight.

"No problem Santa." Belinda smiled.

Arthur looked stunned. Bryony popped her head out of the bag also stunned.

"How did you know?" Arthur asked.

"I saw it in your eyes" Belinda shrugged. "Here, you'd better put your coat and hat back on, you still have presents to deliver."

Arthur traded coats again and put his hat back on. Bryony hopped out of the bag as he did so. The three of them then started walking around the corner.

"I'm surprised you were able to accept his being Santa." Bryony spoke up.

"Oh I'm very open-minded. No one has really proven that Santa doesn't exist so I decided to continue believing just in case." Belinda smiled. "It's more fun anyway. Besides, I've always believed in what you stood for: peace and goodwill. Why not believe in you as well?"

"So, you recognized me through my eyes?" Arthur was still confused.

"Yeah, you may not have the belly or beard but you still have the Christmas spirit." Belinda stopped in front of a door and took her key out. "This is my place, I'd invite you both in but I know how busy you are this time of year."

"Oh it's okay, we're ahead of schedule this year." Arthur shrugged. "Still, we should be getting back soon."

Belinda unlocked the door and opened it. She then turned on the hall light.

"Just let me wrap my dad's present and get your snack out, I'll be going to bed soon anyway." She went inside.

Arthur and Bryony followed her in. Instantly a little pug ran over yipping excitedly.

"Yes Pogo, I'm home." Belinda grinned. "These two are friends of mine so be nice."

Pogo sniffed Arthur and Bryony and yipped happily. He then leaned onto Bryony and licked her face.

"Well, it's better than being growled at." Bryony chuckled.

Belinda took the coat she had bought for her father and started to wrap it. Belinda neatly cut some wrapping paper, got out some ribbon, and wrapped the package almost as well as an elf.

"Say, you're pretty good." Bryony was impressed.

"I've had a lot of practice." Belinda shrugged.

She then placed the package under the tree and went into the kitchen to get some cookies and milk. She first brought out the cookies and then went back and brought out a couple glasses of milk.

"Since there aren't any kids living here I know you don't have anything to drop off, but here's a snack anyway." Belinda grinned. "I haven't been able to do this for years."

"Really?" Arthur accepted a cookie and glass of milk; Bryony took a cookie too.

"Yeah I know Santa only delivers to kids so I figured he'd never stop here unless I adopted a kid or something." Belinda explained. "But it's okay, I don't need presents to have a good Christmas."

Arthur and Bryony then took a good look around the place. There was a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, garlands, candles, a Christmas tablecloth, and even some stuffed animals around the place.

"Wow, you really are a kid on the inside aren't you?" Arthur smiled.

"Uh-huh." Belinda smiled. "So, forgive me for asking but I was wondering what happened to your beard and belly."

"Oh they haven't come in yet, Santa Claus is just a title passed down through the family." Arthur shrugged. "I became Santa about a couple years ago."

"Oh, so your dad was the last Santa?" Belinda guessed.

"That's right. My older brother Steve was supposed to be the next Santa but dad saw that I had more Christmas Spirit in me and made me Santa instead." Arthur nodded.

"I hope Steve was okay with that." Belinda said concernedly.

"He was a little disappointed but he got over it quickly." Arthur smiled. "Well it was nice chatting with you but we'd better get back to work."

"Of course, I'll leave the rest of the snack here in case you want some more." Belinda nodded. "I'd better get to bed anyway. I hope we can see each other again soon though."

"Sure, Santas always get January off so I'll be able to visit a few times next month." Arthur nodded. "See you next year Belinda."

"Sure thing Santa." Belinda smiled.

She then got ready for bed and fell asleep. Arthur and Bryony headed back into the EVIE.

"Are you two okay, we were worried ever since we heard the alarms." Steve said.

"Yeah, we almost got caught but this woman named Belinda realized who I was and pretended that I was a friend of hers to save me." Arthur nodded.

"A woman knew you were Santa? As in an adult woman?" Steve was surprised.

"She said that she saw the Christmas Spirit in Arthur's eyes." Bryony explained. "Plus she's remained open-minded all these years about Santa Claus since no one has officially proven that he doesn't exist."

"Well, that's because he does exist." Steve shrugged. "But anyway I'm glad things worked out. We'd better finish delivering those presents now."

"Of course...and next year I'd like to add Belinda to the list." Arthur said.

"Sure thing, but you'll have to get her last name first."

"Oh...that's right I didn't tell her my first name either." Arthur remembered. "Oh well we didn't have much time anyway, and I said I'd visit her again in January. We can exchange letters in the meantime."

The rest of Christmas Eve went without a hitch. Christmas Day was fun too, especially since Steve and Grandsanta gave up arguing about technology and old fashioned ways ever since Arthur was made Santa.


	2. Santa Letters

During December 26 Arthur wrote a letter to Belinda. Fortunately he was able to get her address from the main computer.

Dear Belinda,  
Since we didn't have much time to get to know each other I decided to write to you and tell you a few things.

First of all, my real name is Arthur Christmas. Also the elf that was with me was Bryony, who helped me a lot a couple years ago when I had to deliver a forgotten present. I'm not sure what went wrong...anyway one present got knocked out of the assembly line so Bryony and I, with Grandsanta (my dad's father) helping too, took a trip to deliver it. It was a bit of a hassle though, especially since it was my first time flying (I have this thing about heights...). Fortunately everything worked out for the best, and everyone ended up happy which is the most important thing.

I'm glad to have met an adult who also has a lot of Christmas Spirit (and not just because you saved me and Bryony either) and I definitely want to see you again. But I really only can in January, starting February I'll be too busy to visit often. However I might be able to sneak some time off now and then to see you. My parents as well as Steve and Grandsanta already know about you and they like the sound of you. They're also grateful to you for saving me and Bryony from the police. See you in January.  
Arthur Christmas

Belinda got the letter after a few days, and wrote back.

Dear Arthur,  
I'm glad you wrote, I wasn't sure whether to send a letter or not because I know the postmen don't believe in Santa (like most other adults). However since your letter got through I guess this means my letters will too.

My last name is Kermit oddly enough (at least you have a festive last name). But no matter, sometimes that's one of the good things about being female: you can easily change your last name by marrying a good guy with a better last name. I hope I find a great guy with at least a simple last name like Smith if nothing else. But I'm not rushing, I don't know a lot of good guys around here so I'm waiting for the right guy to come along.

I'm an only child and an inheritor of a wealthy family. You probably wouldn't have guessed that due to the way I live, but I don't care about wealth. Unfortunately my parents do and have been pressuring me to marry a wealthy businessman. Oh well. Pogo is really my only friend, some of my previous friends found out that I still believe in Santa Claus and thought me weird for it. I've been kinda keeping it a secret ever since, pretty much the only people I tell nowadays are the kids I meet at my job. I'm a clerk in a toy store at the mall near my house. I love kids and have been wanting one of my own, but my luck with men has gotten to the point where I've been considering adopting.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you care so much about kids too, though considering your job it's not surprising. Also don't feel ashamed about your fear of heights, that's actually a common phobia. I can see where it can be a problem for Santa Claus, but you do have family as well as elves helping you so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

I really want to see you again too, so far you've been the most decent guy I've ever known. I also understand that you won't be able to visit me that often, it's okay. I prefer that you don't neglect your work, it's too important. We can always write through letters anyway. Also tell your family that it was my honor to save you, I had always dreamed of meeting Santa Claus but I never imagined that I'd end up saving him from anything. I hope I can meet them sometime, but I understand if they don't want to make the trip down here.  
Belinda

Dear Belinda,  
Don't worry about the letters, we have a special delivery system for those. A few selected elves work in the dead letter offices year round to make sure that letters to Santa get delivered.

Well, I've heard weirder last names so don't worry, yours doesn't sound that odd to me. You see I've been working in the mail room, where I respond to all the letters, ever since I was a child. Meaning I've gotten letters from kids with the oddest names, first last or both. And I hope you do find the right guy, anyone who loves kids a lot deserves to have a family.

I was a bit surprised to learn that you come from a wealthy family, but I'm also grateful that you never let it affect you. You know I found some of your old letters and I'm now amazed by the selfless requests you had. After all you never mentioned in any of those previous letters that you were wealthy. Anyway, don't worry about your parents. Since you're a legal adult they can't force you to do anything you don't want to.

I'm also sorry to hear about your friends, but then again a true friend is someone who sticks by you no matter what. And you can always find a true friend in me. Say, I was wondering how you came up with the name of your dog. I really like it.

Thanks for the 'decent' compliment. 'chuckle' Also I don't think my family would be able to make a trip down there but maybe I can convince them into letting you visit. My parents and Grandsanta should be easy enough, but Steve is another matter. He's very protective.  
Arthur

And that's how it went. They continued writing letters to each other and Arthur was actually able to visit quite a bit during January. Grandsanta had built a smaller sleigh that could be pulled by one reindeer in case a member of the family wanted to take a small trip somewhere, and Arthur now used it to visit Belinda. It was tricky to work out at first, but fortunately Belinda had a really tall fence around her backyard so they decided that Arthur could park the sleigh there. He couldn't outside of Green River because there was a wolf pack roaming the area. Oh, and Belinda explained that she named her dog Pogo because one of her favorite toys when she was a kid was her pogo stick.

Each time Arthur visited he and Belinda had fun. They went ice skating or played in the park. Arthur was used to ice thanks to living at the North Pole so he got the hang of ice skating quickly. Belinda had already skated many times before, so it wasn't long until they were skating together instead of separately (Belinda originally kept her distance so that Arthur wouldn't knock her down if he fell). As for playing at the park, mostly they built snow sculptures or had a snowball fight, but sometimes they made snow angels. The kids and their parents already knew Belinda from the toy store she worked at, and so already knew about her childlike personality. Arthur was a stranger to them, but they were glad that Belinda had found someone to hang out with besides children.

During hot weather Arthur and Belinda went to see movies or just hung out at her place. Arthur was fascinated by the recent movies, at least the animated ones. Most of the live-action ones weren't exactly kid friendly and so not really Belinda's thing...which was okay because they probably wouldn't have been Arthur's thing either. As for her place she had movies that had come out not so recently and Arthur enjoyed pretty much all of them, especially the holiday ones. When they weren't watching movies they were eating and chatting and laughing and...basically just having a really good time.


	3. Loving Christmas

Arthur of course kept asking his family about inviting Belinda over to the North Pole. He ended up right, it didn't take much to convince his parents and Grandsanta. But Steve was too protective, he kept worrying that Belinda might take photos and post them online or something.

Finally during early November Arthur paid another visit to Belinda. He decided to just go ahead and plan out taking Belinda to the North Pole. They had gotten to know each other very well over the months, so Arthur knew that Belinda wouldn't take photos and share them. She already had to deal with losing friends due to her beliefs so it was obvious that she wouldn't risk anything worse happening. This visit happened to be the same time Belinda's parents were visiting. Belinda wanted them to meet Arthur, though reassured Arthur that she wouldn't tell them his real identity.

"So you're Arthur Christmas?" Mr. Kermit said.

"That's right sir, Belinda and I met last Christmas and became friends." Arthur smiled.

They were sitting in the living room drinking cider and chatting. Mrs. Kermit was allergic to chocolate so they couldn't have hot cocoa.

"Belinda has told us a bit about you." Mrs. Kermit said. "You work at the same toy store she works at is that right?"

Arthur realized that Belinda came up with that to cover up his real career.

"That's right, my family and I live far away from here but when I was visiting this city I decided to get a job here. That's how Belinda and I met." Arthur went with it.

They continued talking, Arthur telling them cover-up stories for his family. He couldn't mention Grandsanta, since it was rare for humans to live over a hundred, but he did talk about his parents and Steve. He said that his dad used to deliver toys from the factory to the stores and his brother works in organizing.

"Our family has always been a huge fan of Christmas, and we love helping kids receive their wishes." Arthur finished.

As they continued chatting Arthur found himself feeling extra happy near Belinda. Belinda, at the same time, seemed to be trying to stay close to Arthur. Finally, after lunch, Arthur got up.

"Well, I'm sorry to leave so soon but things get really busy this time of year. They're going to need me back." Arthur apologized.

"It's okay, I'll see you later." Belinda smiled.

"Sure thing. It was nice meeting you both." Arthur smiled.

"Likewise." Mr. Kermit seemed to be saying that more out of politeness than anything else, but Arthur didn't notice.

Arthur said his goodbyes, Belinda and her parents reciprocated, and Arthur left. At that point:

"So, what do you think of him?" Belinda smiled.

"Well, he's a very nice lad but are you sure he's right for you?" Mrs. Kermit asked.

Belinda looked confused.

"Uh, he's just a friend. I haven't had a human friend in years so I was just wondering if you think he's good friend material." Belinda said.

"Friend only." Mr. Kermit nodded.

"What are you talking about?" Belinda asked.

"Come now, we saw how you two looked and acted around each other." Mrs. Kermit was now confused. "You acted as if you two were almost married."

Belinda was stunned by this. She thought about it and realized that she had fallen in love with Arthur. However she decided not to say anything yet to her parents, she wanted to talk to Arthur first.

"Oh, I guess I was just overjoyed about finally having a true friend." Belinda lied. "As for Arthur...well, he's always that joyful. He's full of Christmas Spirit."

"Ah." Mr. Kermit smiled approvingly.

Mrs. Kermit, at the same time, looked relieved.

Arthur, in the meantime, thought about how he felt around Belinda as he flew back home. He had no idea what had come over him. He had never felt so happy before, and certainly had never felt happy and nervous at the same time before. In fact he didn't even know it was possible to feel both at the same time. He decided to talk to his father about it, Steve probably wouldn't know and Grandsanta was probably taking a nap.

"Dad? Can I come in?" Arthur said.

Malcolm was reading a book in his bedroom, but he looked up and smiled once Arthur spoke.

"Of course son, come on in." Malcolm straightened up a bit and set his book aside. "So, how was the visit?"

"It was good, Belinda's parents are nice though a bit stiff." Arthur shrugged. "Of course them being there meant that I wasn't able to talk to Belinda about her visiting here soon but I can just write her a letter."

"Of course you can." Malcolm smiled but then noticed Arthur's confused expression. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Not really, I'm just trying to figure out something." Arthur shrugged. "You see when I was near Belinda today I felt both really happy and really nervous at the same time. Can you think of any reason why I'd feel that way?"

Malcolm smiled again.

"Of course, considering I once felt that way a long time ago." He said.

"Really? What about?"

"My love for your mother."

Arthur looked very stunned.

"Wait, you mean...?" Arthur couldn't believe it.

"That's right, you've fallen in love with Belinda." Malcolm smiled.

Arthur didn't know what to say, so instead he thought about it. As the time passed he realized that he really had fallen in love with Belinda. He knew he had to tell her, but he didn't want to tell her in a letter so he got another idea.

Hi Belinda,  
Still haven't convinced Steve to let you visit, but I've decided to bring you here anyway so that you can meet my family. After all I already met yours so it's only fair, plus I trust you. I know you won't take advantage of the visit. I was thinking next January, after New Year's. Does that work for you?  
Arthur

Hi Arthur,  
That works great, how about January 3? I usually spend January 1 and 2 taking the decorations down.  
Belinda

Arthur agreed to January 3. Both he and Belinda felt giddy about that day, because they both had decided to admit their feelings then. Arthur decided to let Belinda meet his family first and then tell her just before taking her home, and Belinda decided to tell Arthur as soon as they arrived.


	4. Scrooges and Christmas Canines

The next two months were spent with excitement and joy, but also a little worry. Now that Belinda was back on the list Arthur had to think of a special present to give her but couldn't think of one. They mostly did toys, so he knew that it had to be a special toy or something homemade. He wasn't good with arts and crafts, so he decided on a special toy. But what kind of toy? He spent many days trying to figure it out.

Then finally, a week before Christmas, Arthur decided to look around the remainder of the toys (the ones added under the tree along with the asked-for toys) and see if he could spot anything that would work. He did, a beautiful reindeer stuffed animal. He remembered that most of Belinda's stuffed animals were either bears or dogs, so she'd probably love a Christmas themed one. Especially one that was realistic and had a beautiful harness and bridle on it with golden bells that actually rang. Since the reindeer hadn't been reserved for anyone Arthur took it and wrapped it up. Fortunately Bryony had been teaching him how to wrap presents so he did a decent if not good job of it. After he was done one of the toy elves burst into his room.

"Sorry for the intrusion Santa, but the large reindeer toy we had been hoping to give to someone special went missing." The toy elf, Dan, saluted.

"Oh, I took it." Arthur looked disappointed. "I was planning to give it to Belinda."

Dan relaxed.

"Never mind." He smiled. "You see we had been planning to give that reindeer to you. Since it's technically yours you're free to do what you want with it."

Arthur smiled, relieved.

Christmas Eve came and went. Belinda was happy, though not surprised, that 'Santa' visited her and left her a package. However she was surprised to find the reindeer in the package. She hugged the reindeer, loving it already.

"I think I'll name you...Jangle." Belinda smiled.

Then January 3 arrived. Arthur, grinning the biggest grin ever, headed for Belinda's door. But before he could knock he overheard something:

"I'm engaged to a big business bureaucrat!"

That was Belinda! Arthur froze at the door, not knowing what to do. But then he started to feel his heart break and so did the only thing he could: ran away crying. He just kept running until he reached the country. By that point he was really tired, and so just sat down on a rock and cried.

But, he got it all wrong. If he had arrived a few minutes earlier this is what he would've witnessed:

Belinda's parents had made an unexpected visit.

"Mom? Dad? What are you two doing here?" Belinda was surprised, normally her parents would call first.

"We have wonderful news and couldn't wait to tell you." Mrs. Kermit smiled.

"Really? What is it?" Belinda was hesitant, she knew that she and her parents had different perspectives on a lot of things.

"You know the guy who owns the toy store franchise you work for?" Mr. Kermit smiled.

"Mr. Asset? Kinda. I do know that he loves money and hates it when his employees take a break." Belinda winced, remembering one time he had visited her store; it obviously hadn't been pleasant.

The weird thing was, he had started visiting her store more frequently ever since he first visited while she was working there. At least according to the manager.

"Well he has taken a shine to you ever since he first saw you and has asked me for your hand in marriage." Mr. Kermit smiled.

Belinda was shocked, horrified, and all sorts of other unpleasant emotions.

"I'm going to marry a big business bureaucrat?" She cried, furious.

"But Belinda, he has plenty of money and will be able to take care of you." Mrs. Kermit protested, shocked by Belinda's outburst.

"I can take care of myself!" Belinda snapped.

"Don't take that tone with us young lady." Mr. Kermit scolded. "He is very wealthy and so there is nothing more to discuss."

"Money this and money that, is that all you two care about?" Belinda glared. "There are more important things than money, like love and helping others. That's why I took the job at the toy store, not for money but because I love helping kids. And I don't love Mr. Asset, in fact I despise him! He's a jerk and a cruel man who cares nothing except for wealth and appearances. I'll never marry him, not matter what. Besides, I love Arthur Christmas!"

Belinda's parents looked eve more shocked.

"I do love him...I really do." Belinda was now coming to terms with how strong her feelings for Arthur really were. "He's the one I want to be with. At least he has a heart, plus he loves kids and doesn't have skewed priorities. I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back until you two come to your senses."

With that, Belinda put on her coat, hat, and gloves, grabbed her purse, and left. She then remembered that Arthur was coming over today, and figured that he was running late. She started to head for the park, since he could easily see her from his sleigh, when she ran into Bryony.

"Bryony? What are you doing here?" Belinda asked, confused.

"Looking for Arthur, the two of you were supposed to be on your way back by now but he's not answering." Bryony explained. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be with him?"

"I was but I thought he was running late." Belinda now looked worried. "Oh no, if he was on time then he must've overheard me and my parents arguing. They set me up with some business jerk...I guess he felt too embarrassed to stay or something and left."

"If he did he must be on foot." Bryony now was worried. "Good thing we have trackers in our HoHos, I can use mine to locate Arthur."

She turned her HoHo on and sure enough got Arthur's signal.

"Come on, we'd better find him." Bryony said. "I'll call Steve as soon as we get closer to him."

They ran off in the direction the tracker said Arthur was in. They traveled until they reached the country. But when they got there they got a huge shock: there was Arthur's HoHo lying in the snow, but no Arthur. Instead, there were a bunch of pawprints.

"Wolf tracks." Belinda paled. "Oh no...how can this be? Wolves normally leave humans alone..."

"I'd better call Steve and ask for backup." Bryony called Steve's number worriedly.

After a quick explanation Bryony hung up and waited for Steve to arrive. He did along with his assistant Peter and some armed elves. They followed the wolf tracks to a cave...but instead of meeting up with wolves they met up with a smaller canine.

"A husky?" Peter said confusedly.

Belinda dropped her mouth open and approached the husky.

"Snowblow? Is that you?" She said.

The husky wagged her tail and nuzzled Belinda. Belinda joyfully hugged her.

"You know this husky?" Steve asked.

"Back when I was a girl I found Snowblow around here as a pup." Belinda explained. "I wanted to keep her but my dad doesn't like dogs. I had to leave her here and I've felt bad about it ever since."

Suddenly some wolves showed up, but they were actually docile. Snowblow broke free of Belinda's grip and started heading for the cave, looking over her shoulder and barking as she did so.

"I think she wants us to follow her." Belinda realized.

She, Steve, Bryony, and Peter did but the rest of the elves stayed behind. The wolves let Belinda and the others pass and enter the cave. There was Arthur lying unconscious! He also had a couple wolves lying on him.

"It looks like Snowblow and the wolves brought Arthur here to keep him warm." Bryony guessed.

"Snowblow, these wolves have been taking care of you haven't they?" Belinda guessed.

Snowblow just barked.

"I'll take that as a yes." Belinda smiled.

Steve and Belinda carried Arthur outside with Bryony and Peter following. Snowblow followed too. Eventually they reached EVIE, and Steve and Belinda carried Arthur onto it. Bryony, Peter, and Snowblow followed them onto the ship. No one protested about Snowblow, they had a feeling that she still wanted to be Belinda's dog anyway.

"So now what?" Steve asked.

"Well, I told my parents that I wouldn't be coming back until they came to their senses." Belinda said. "So I was wondering...can I stay with you guys? I want to be there when Arthur wakes up anyway, I'm really worried about him."

Steve studied Belinda for a moment and realized that she was telling the truth.

"Very well, you can stay." Steve smiled.

"But what about Pogo? And there's Arthur's sleigh to consider." Bryony pointed out.

"Belinda and I will come back for them after we get Arthur home." Steve said. "It won't take too long, a few hours at most."

"Great, I'll get the rest of my stuff too." Belinda nodded. "My parents are sure to be gone by then anyway."

So that's what they did. After taking Arthur to the medical ward Steve and Belinda went back to pick up Arthur's sleigh and Belinda's most important items along with Pogo. Fortunately, most of the people who lived near Belinda were on vacation anyway so there was nothing to worry about.


	5. The Future Mrs Claus

Some more hours passed, and finally Arthur woke up. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Belinda?" He said.

"Yes, it's me." Belinda smiled. "I'm so glad you're okay, I was really worried about you."

"But...but what about your engagement?" Arthur asked.

"My parents set it up, I never wanted it." Belinda shook her head.

Arthur smiled and his heart healed.

"That's good...I mean that you didn't want it." He said. "I was hoping that we, well..." He took a deep breath. "I've fallen in love with you."

Belinda smiled and hugged him.

"I've fallen in love with you too." She said.

Arthur hugged her back. They stayed like that for a few minutes until finally...they kissed.

And so Belinda moved in with Arthur and his family. She got a room of her own, where she slept with Snowblow and Pogo. She also had written a letter to her parents, using her old address as the return address.

Dear mom and dad,  
I truly love Arthur, with all my heart, and so have moved in with him and his family. I won't write to you again or anything like that until you learn that love is more important than wealth and cancel my engagement to Mr. Asset. I do love you both but there are times when I feel that you don't care about me or my happiness.  
Belinda

A mail elf was stationed at Belinda's old home as a temporary tenant until they got a response. The mail elf used up the leftover food in the fridge and made certain that Belinda hadn't forgotten anything. Belinda already got her bedroom furniture and didn't need to keep any other furniture so it was all good. After around three months the response from Belinda's parents came back.

Dear Belinda,  
Your mother and I are so sorry for making you feel as if we didn't care about you. We do, really, but I guess we showed it the wrong way. We have cancelled your engagement to Mr. Asset, because your happiness really does mean a lot to us. Arthur may not be wealthy, but he does make you happy so if you want to be with him then we'll allow it. Again, we're really sorry.  
Your father.

With that, Arthur took Belinda over to her parents' house using the one-reindeer sleigh. They arrived in the evening when few people would notice them. Belinda's parents did, but none of the neighbors noticed a thing (thank goodness).

"Belinda...what...how..." Mrs. Kermit stammered.

"Mom, dad, the truth is that Arthur Christmas is Santa Claus." Belinda said.

Obviously Mr. and Mrs. Kermit's minds blew a few fuses. Once they got over the shock though they apologized big time to Arthur and Belinda. Arthur forgave them instantly.

"Belinda still wants to live with me and my family, but you can still write to her at the North Pole." Arthur smiled.

Mr. and Mrs. Kermit agreed to do so and promised to write as often as possible. Belinda promised to do the same thing.

So that was that. Belinda was very happy in her new home. She and her parents wrote to each other often, and Belinda got the hang of helping Arthur and the elves prepare for Christmas. She perfected her wrapping skills and got extra baking tips from Mrs. Claus. But mostly, she and Arthur kept each other happy.

After a couple years, Belinda became the next Mrs. Claus: Belinda Christmas. That's right, she and Arthur got married. Since Belinda's parents had retired by that point and didn't have many reasons to stay in Green River they decided to move into the North Pole with their daughter and new son-in-law.

And a little over a year later, a new addition to the family was born: Ivy Christmas. The first female Santa Claus. Of course about four years later Ivy got a brother named Nick, but it was Ivy who really was into delivering peace and goodwill. Nick soon showed more of an interest in working behind the scenes like his Uncle Steve.


End file.
